1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to the field of medical imaging and more particularly to that of radiology and finds application in the field of vascular radiological interventional imaging.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vascular interventional radiology includes procedures performed under control of imaging and notably allows atherosclerosis to be treated.
Atherosclerosis is expressed by local shrinkage of the diameter of a vessel and obstruction of the vessel which interferes with circulation of blood flow. The angioplasty operation consists of deploying at the shrinkage area an inflatable balloon so as to widen the diameter of the vessel. An endovascular prosthesis (or stent) may also be implanted in the vessel in order to keep the vessel open.
During the angioplasty operation, the surgeon introduces into the vessel a guide wire with which a catheter supporting the inflatable balloon or the stent may be brought up to the shrinkage area.
The surgeon has to position the stent in a specific location.
The surgeon controls the progress of the operation by viewing a radiological image of the treated area.
The radiological image is an image acquired in real time which allows the surgeon to view the positioning of the different tools used in the area to be treated.
During operation, the surgeon should be able to use two images in parallel, for example an image of a vessel of the area to be treated and an image of the area to be treated with the stent.
Thus, in order to follow the progress of the operation, the surgeon has to mentally superpose both images in order to evaluate the status of the operation in progress or else switch from one image to the other.